Description:

Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 9th to 10th century CE. A splendid gilt silver pendant of discoid form featuring the relief image of a majestic falcon with broad wings and a plump body beneath a trifurcated suspension bale. The bird showcases segmented legs spread out on either side of the triangular tail, and the teardrop-shaped head bears one circular eye that peers off towards one side. Falcons were important creatures in Viking mythology that represented Freya, wife of Odin, and were reliable hunting partners for Viking warriors. Size: 1.6" W x 1.9" H (4.1 cm x 4.8 cm); silver quality: 90.1%; gilding quality: 37.9%; weight: 17.1 grams

The important Viking metalworking shops correspond to their great trading ports and proto-urban centers - Birka, Helgo, Sigtuna, and Lund in Sweden, Ribe, Haithabu (Hedeby), and Fyrkat in Denmark, and Kaupang and Trondheim in Norway. Silver was the principal currency of the Viking world, which stretched from Russia to northern Canada at the height of their influence. In many places, the Vikings kept silver not as coins, but as jewelry, a wearable currency form that was not subject to the authority of a monarch or mint. One of the most common archaeological finds from the Viking period is a hoard of metal objects, often buried in the earth or deposited in bodies of water, like river beds.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg) and then Latvia collection; found on the Baltic Sea coast prior to 1982

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#187780

  • Condition: Some minor abrasions and small areas of rubbing, but otherwise, intact and excellent. Wearable as a pendant.

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August 9, 2024 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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